Hussey's retirement

I find it strange on reflection. He seems like such a competitive bloke, who absolutely loves cricket.

He cited the old "wanting to spend more time with the family" reason for retiring, but he is currently in India playing for Chennai in the IPL. Fair enough too, as it's a lucrative cash earner. However, he always seemed to me to be so passionate about playing cricket for Australia that something doesn't add up. Surely he could have said to the selectors "I'm going to miss the India test series, and then make myself available for the Ashes if you need me".

I'd be so much more comfortable if he was in the team. He makes us a lot stronger. This looks competitive to me, especially with our bowling attack being strong...

- Cowan
- Rogers
- Warner
- Watson
- Clarke
- Hussey
- Haddin

Guess it's too late now, but does his retirement seem oddly timed to anyone else? Any truth to the rumours he had a massive fall-out with Clarke?

Always thought there was more to his retirement than he let on but he's too much of a team man to put it out in the public arena.

Possibly a case of he wasn't loving the team environment or whatever so did legitimately feel like his time was better spent at home. Which wouldn't be surprising for a guy like him - if he wasn't totally into it then he'd notice a difference.

He has the option of back-to-back Ashes series that send him across the globe and around the country for 9 months a year, or he can play a 6 week tournament and shore up his financial position for much of the rest of his life.

I don't see why it's so hard to swallow that he wants to spend the most time with his young kids as possible - he's a dad first and cricketer second. The IPL is simply a bonus that gives him financial security for far less time spent away from his kids.

We always considered Huss a great "team man" and a fantastic servant of the game of cricket who so clearly loved it. Perhaps he loves his wife and kids too, and wants to be the absolute best father and husband he can be.

He has the option of back-to-back Ashes series that send him across the globe and around the country for 9 months a year, or he can play a 6 week tournament and shore up his financial position for much of the rest of his life.

I don't see why it's so hard to swallow that he wants to spend the most time with his young kids as possible - he's a dad first and cricketer second. The IPL is simply a bonus that gives him financial security for far less time spent away from his kids.

We always considered Huss a great "team man" and a fantastic servant of the game of cricket who so clearly loved it. Perhaps he loves his wife and kids too, and wants to be the absolute best father and husband he can be.

You're right on the father and husband thing. Absolutely. It just seemed strange and sudden to me. And nowadays (correct me if I'm wrong) it's quite easy for wife and kids to travel with the players?

I just would've thought that the upcoming Ashes series in England would've been the perfect time for him to finish, win or loss.

And nowadays (correct me if I'm wrong) it's quite easy for wife and kids to travel with the players?

Just on this point - yeah, it is more accepted for wives and kids to go on tour, but it's pretty unsettling on the family. His kids would be hitting the age where they start primary school, and pulling them out to travel through England for 6 months probably isn't the greatest of ideas for their education. And who knows what commitments Amy has - dropping everything to stay with Mike would be nice, but isn't necessarily practical.

Just on this point - yeah, it is more accepted for wives and kids to go on tour, but it's pretty unsettling on the family. His kids would be hitting the age where they start primary school, and pulling them out to travel through England for 6 months probably isn't the greatest of ideas for their education. And who knows what commitments Amy has - dropping everything to stay with Mike would be nice, but isn't necessarily practical.

Primary reason was for family, but for how sudden and out of the blue his announcement came it would be naive to think that he was happy in the current set up. I hope one day he writes an autobiography.....would be an excellent read I reckon.

If Australia get smoked hard in back-to-back Ashes, I really wonder what it will do to Hussey's reputation. He no doubt has the right to retire whenever the **** he wants. But it will be interesting to see how he is remembered.

I don't buy the team man, mr. cricket persona. I suspect he's a selfish guy and and his conduct in retiring confirms it. He clearly knew the selectors wanted to build the ashes challenges substantially around him and he did the dirty on them and the team. This in return for the myopic loyalty shown to him when he couldn't score a run.

No problems with him retiring and cashing up in the IPL. Just that he should have given selectors notice of his plans. Its pretty rank he didn't show as much respect for their plans as he did his. After all neither party would have been at a disadvantage if Hussey just had the courtesy to tell people he was going to retire alot earlier than he did.

I don't buy the team man, mr. cricket persona. I suspect he's a selfish guy and and his conduct in retiring confirms it. He clearly knew the selectors wanted to build the ashes challenges substantially around him and he did the dirty on them and the team. This in return for the myopic loyalty shown to him when he couldn't score a run.

No problems with him retiring and cashing up in the IPL. Just that he should have given selectors notice of his plans. Its pretty rank he didn't show as much respect for their plans as he did his. After all neither party would have been at a disadvantage if Hussey just had the courtesy to tell people he was going to retire alot earlier than he did.

My friend shares that view and is extremely strong on it. He has been saying Hussey is selfish for a while though and I used to tell him he's a dickhead but he had a big "told ya so" when Hussey retired in this fashion.

Didn't Hussey admit he didn't tell the selectors before the South African and Lankan series because he didn't want them to drop him and blood a youngster? He then said he also wanted to wait and be sure that he really wanted to retire, but I mean the fact he even gave a reason why he didn't tell the selectors shows it was a calculated move.

Many have wondered why you kept the decision to yourself, though you knew for more or less the whole summer. Was it a case of not wanting to be persuaded otherwise?
It's a good question. I wanted to make sure myself, I wanted to see how I felt through the Australian summer. And my feelings certainly didn't change.

Partly why I didn't want to say anything to anyone was that I cherished every Test match I got to play, and I really wanted to finish the Australian summer. If I made it known earlier, perhaps they would start looking ahead earlier and not play me in my last couple of Tests. That was a small selfish part of it. I didn't want them to say, "You're going to retire, we'll blood someone else." Most of it, though, was making sure I was 100% sure about the decision.

You have mentioned struggling through your last two tours. The UAE-Sri Lanka trip, in particular, seemed a long time away without even a Test match to show for it.
I battled through that. I enjoyed the cricket. It's just the time that you're away. It's not a very good life balance, and if you're a young guy and you haven't got other responsibilities at home, then it probably wouldn't be as bad. And also if you hadn't done it for very long it wouldn't be as bad, because it's all new and exciting. But certainly after eight or ten years, it does wear you down after a while.

Lastly, this summer we saw a lot of tears, from Clarke, Ponting and yourself. So it felt like the end of something, of a tie with the past being cut. Did it feel that way to you?
Most of my emotions were happy ones. I felt like I'd achieved 100 times more than I'd ever have been able to in the international arena. I didn't want the stress and the anguish that comes with international cricket anymore. I didn't want the time away, and so I was excited about being home a lot more and being part of my family's life. I wanted to go out in Australia because I love the Australian summer, and the Sydney Test is unbelievable to play in, and I didn't feel like I needed to do any more. I didn't have to prove myself to anyone else or to myself. It would be great to have the Ashes, but I have won an Ashes series, so I didn't feel there was much left to achieve. It was a great time to go.